This invention relates to the treatment of patients having respiratory ailments, and in particular to an apparatus which is capable of providing a nebulized medication to such patients.
In the treatment of patients having various respiratory ailments, particularly those having chronic obstructive lung diseases, various methods may be used.
Often, a fluid (air or other oxygen based medium) is provided to the patient under pressure. Such positive pressure breathing devices may be intermittent in nature, or may operate on a continuous basis. Such devices are generally cumbersome, and relatively complex in operation. A commonly known example of such a device is the iron lung. Many smaller devices exist as well.
In many applications, in addition to positive pressure, treatment is provided to a patient by introducing a nebulized medication into the lungs of the patient, during operation of the positive pressure breathing apparatus. This is accomplished by supplying a fluid, generally air, to an apparatus which atomizes, or nebulizes, a medication placed into that apparatus. The nebulized medication is then drawn into the lungs of the patient during inhalation, natural or assisted.
In general, devices capable of performing the foregoing were cumbersome, heavy, and difficult to operate, often relegating their use to a hospital environment, or at least to trained personnel on an outpatient basis. This has forced a patient suffering from a disease requiring the use of such equipment, to remain in a relatively stationary environment. Ambulatory periods were often not permitted, or at least inadvisable.
Recognizing this problem, workers skilled in the art to which this invention pertains have worked to develop devices of the foregoing type which are portable in nature. Examples of such devices may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,076,021; 3,990,442; and 3,301,255.
Although the foregoing devices are said to be portable, they are still too heavy to be carried about by a patient suffering from a respiratory ailment. Therefore, none of the devices illustrated permit a patient complete freedom of movement. Consequently, a patient is still prevented from freely moving about for any extended period of time.
Moreover, each of the foregoing devices specifically calls for the use of positive pressure in the treatment of a patient. However, it has recently been determined that, in many instances, positive pressure is counterproductive to the treatment of a patient. Positive pressure has been found to increase venus return, which forces the heart to work harder, even during the treatment process. Allowing a patient to freely inhale a nebulized medication, in the course of the natural breathing process, has been found to produce improved results in such cases. A better distribution of the medication through the lungs of the patient is afforded.
Thus, the prior art has not provided a respiratory treatment apparatus which is sufficiently light in weight, and which is sufficiently simple, effective and fail-safe in use, to permit a patient to be fully and independently ambulatory.